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Labor rights were in the spotlight during the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as union leaders, including UAW President Shawn Fain, took to the stage. We play part of Fain’s address, in which he called Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump “a scab” and praised Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’s labor record.
Transcript
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: The Democratic National Convention began Monday in Chicago, a city with a rich labor history and a mayor who is a former teachers union organizer. Mayor Brandon Johnson kicked off the opening night of the DNC. Not invited to the DNC was Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, who spoke at the Republican National Convention last month. Several other union leaders did address the DNC on Monday, including United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain.
SHAWN FAIN: For the UAW and for working-class people everywhere, this election comes down to one question: Which side are you on? On one side, we have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who have stood shoulder to shoulder with the working class. On the other side, we have Trump and Vance, two lapdogs for the billionaire class who only serve themselves. So, for us in the labor movement, it’s real simple. Kamala Harris is one of us. She’s a fighter for the working class. And Donald Trump is a scab!
AUDIENCE: Trump’s a scab! Trump’s a scab! Trump’s a scab! Trump’s a scab! Trump’s a scab! Trump’s a scab! Trump’s a scab! Trump’s a scab! Trump’s a scab! Trump’s a scab! Trump’s a scab!
SHAWN FAIN: That’s not — that’s not just my opinion. That’s a fact. All we have to do is look at the track record. When Donald Trump was president, corporate America ran wild. Donald Trump did not bring back the auto industry. When Donald Trump was president, auto plants closed. Trump did nothing. Trump told workers in Lordstown, Ohio, that he would be bringing all the auto jobs back, and Trump did nothing. In 2019, General Motor workers went on strike for 40 days for good jobs and a better life. And Trump did nothing. Talk is cheap.
But in 2019, you know who was on the picket line standing shoulder to shoulder with autoworkers? I’ll give you a clue: Her initials are Kamala Harris. In 2023, who helped bring jobs back to Lordstown, Ohio? Kamala Harris. And in 2024, who will stand with the working class in our fight for justice? Kamala Harris. And that’s the difference. Donald Trump is all talk, and Kamala Harris walks the walk.
Woo! In the words of the great American poet Nelly, “It’s getting hot in here.”
Donald Trump laughs about firing workers who go on strike. And Kamala Harris stands shoulder to shoulder with workers when they’re on strike. And that’s the difference between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump the scab.
Trump is pushing divide-and-conquer tactics of the rich. It’s the oldest trick in the book. They want to blame the frustrations of the working-class people — they want to take those frustrations, they want to blame it on race. They want to blame it on LGBTQ+ people. They want to blame it on some destitute and desperate person at the border. They do that because they want working-class people to be divided and to focus and keep the focus off the one true enemy: corporate greed.
AMY GOODMAN: That was UAW President Shawn Fain addressing the Democratic National Convention on the first night of these four nights. Midway through his speech, Fain took off his suit jacket to show he was wearing a T-shirt that read “Trump is a scab.” Fain’s speech comes as the UAW is warning it may call for a new national strike against Stellantis.
Also at the DNC Monday night, Vice President Kamala Harris surprised people by briefly speaking. She ended her address the same way she’s ending her stump speeches, saying, “When we fight, we win,” which is a longtime labor slogan.
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